


Time's Forever Frozen Still

by insieme



Series: Canon Malec Drabbles [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, barely any angst, it's mainly just tooth rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 18:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13037295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insieme/pseuds/insieme
Summary: Alec gives Magnus a Christmas present he's been working on all year.





	Time's Forever Frozen Still

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Angels!
> 
> I wrote this little piece instead of studying for exams (and it was to Yara over whatsapp). 
> 
> A [Russian Translation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13228428) can be found here!
> 
>  
> 
> If you want to tag me on twitter you can tag #insiemes xx
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Eleven months into their relationship and two weeks before Christmas, Magnus hardly saw his boyfriend.

The other man continuously claimed to be busy with work and apologized profusely for being unable to come by. And Magnus knew that Alec was actually very busy, being Head of the Institute had many responsibilities after all. But he missed falling asleep next to his boyfriend, getting goodnight and good morning kisses and cuddles after work. The loft wasn’t the same without Alec’s warm presence beside him, his coffee cups in the sink and the smell of him on everything Magnus owned. Sleeping was hard and he found himself missing strong arms wrapping around, soft snores in his ear. 

Overall, it really sucked. 

When Alec did end up coming by, he had huge bags under his eyes and looked like a walking zombie. Magnus was worried, of course he was, because Alec clearly wasn’t sleeping. He selfishly wished that Alec would come back home, knowing the other man would sleep much better if he was in Magnus’ bed. But he thought of all the time off they the next week, Alec insisting they both took it off so they could celebrate their first Christmas. And to Magnus, it couldn’t come fast enough, both for Alec's suffering sleep schedule and for Magnus to finally get to spend some time with his boyfriend.

So Christmas break rolled around and Alec was back at the loft, looking more refreshed than he had in awhile. But there was something still on his mind, distracting him. He went into his office for hours and hours each night, emerging late only to slip in bed beside Magnus and kiss him goodnight before falling asleep immediately.

And Magnus doesn’t know what to make of all of it. His insecurities start to jump and he worries that he’s not making the Alec happy. But Alec seemed happy. Didn’t he?

On Christmas Eve, Magnus had finally had enough and was going to confront Alec. Whatever was bugging him they could work it out together. It was Christmas and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Alec, but he couldn’t stand another day with Alec walking around like a ghost in his own house.  
But when he gets home and opens the door, he finds Alec sitting on the couch, nervous smile on his face, and every single thought leaves his mind. 

"Alexander? What's going on?"

Alec smiles, a little wider this time and gestures for Magnus to come sit beside him. "Come sit. Please." So Magnus does, sitting across from Alec on the couch, legs crossed underneath him. Alec shifted in his seat, first sign that he was nervous. Magnus watched him closely, taking in how Alec had obviously cleaned up a little bit, and he was wearing one of the nicer shirts Magnus had bought him. 

"Alexander babe, what is it?"

Alec took a deep breath and reached behind him, pulling out a neatly wrapped present and held it out for Magnus to take. "I uh- I wanted to give you part of your present early, if that's okay." Magnus took the package in his hands, but didn’t let his eyes leave Alec's. His boyfriend looked incredibly nervous and he had no idea why.

But Alec just gestured for him to open it, so he did. 

Inside is a leather bound photo book, a picture of the two of them from their first date in the front cover. Magnus looks down at the photo, taken almost a year ago now, and smiled as he ran his fingers along it. He looked up at Alec, who just nodded, and so he opened up the book to the first page.

Each page held a picture, in chronological order, of their relationship. Alec had made a timeline of every single moment. There were pictures from dates, from holidays, from lazy Sundays where neither of them wanted to get out of bed. There were pictures of Magnus he hadn't even been aware were taken, Him fast asleep in the morning, or curled up on the couch and reading a book. There were pictures he remembered clear as day, like the ones from Morocco. 

Underneath each photo is a handwritten caption done by Alec himself, with witty comments and his take on each of the memories. Magnus chuckled as he read through them, amazed at Alec’s beautiful take on every single memory, every single moment. 

Magnus can't help the tears that trailed down his cheeks as he continued to flip through the book. Because Alec had captured their entire relationship, small moments, big moments, and everything in between and locked them into the pages of this book forever.

Alec had been taking pictures of every little thing for their entire relationship, always pulling his phone out and recording memories. At first Magnus had found it incredibly sweet, assuming Alec was caught up in the new relationship hype and wanted to remember and capture everything. Which was fine by him, because he loved that his Shadowhunter was so comfortable with their relationship. 

But as the year went on, and Alec was still taking as many pictures as the first time, Magnus started to get curious. He didn’t put too much thought into it, and he never asked about it, but it was always sitting in the back of his mind.

And now that he knew exactly what Alec had been doing, his heart threatened to burst out of his chest with how full it was.

The end of the book had a series of blank pages, devoid of pictures or notes. On one of them, Magnus finds a sticky note; it reads, "For memories to come, because our story is longer than just a year."

Magnus looked up at Alec. tears clouding his vision, only to find the other man looking back at him. He still looked nervous, but much less so than before. "Alexander, I - I don't know what to say."

Alec swallowed, grabbing Magnus’ hand. "This was why I've been so distant lately, I'm sorry. I just … needed time to put it together when you weren't around." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Do you like it?"

Magnus nodded before Alec has even finished speaking. "I love it, darling. So much." 

Alec smiled, real and big, before it faded a little and his nervousness returned. "I wasn't sure what to get you. Because I know how big Christmas is to you and I wanted this one to be perfect. But I remembered on our second date when you told me you wished you had taken more pictures in your life, to remember the little moments." 

Magnus' breath caught in his throat. "You've been planning this since our second date?" Alec just shrugged, smiling.

"I wanted to give you something for the future, for when - you know ... for when I'm not here anymore. Something you can look back on, that will make you smile."

And at that, Magnus was shocked into silence. He gripped the book tightly to his chest, willing himself to breath. Because no one ever in his four centuries, had ever thought to do something like this for him. Never had anyone listened and planned and cared about him so much. Never had he felt so completely heard by someone before, so completely loved. Because Alec didn't make this book so Magnus could remember him, remember their relationship. No, he gave it to Magnus so that he would have a reason to smile when he was gone. And that was possibly the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him.

He tried to think of the words to convey that, but he came up blank. Instead, he set the book on the coffee table, reaching forward and pulled Alec to him. Alec tucked his head into Magnus shoulder and Magnus held him tighter, reveling in the feeling of him just being close. Trying to convey everything he was feeling through touch.

"Thank you, Alexander. I can't express to you how much this means to me." 

Alec nodded into his shoulder, and Magnus could feel him smile. “I know it’s a little cheesy, but Christmas is supposed to be cheesy right?” 

Magnus pulled back a fraction, chuckling. Alec had a tear rolling down his cheek and Magnus wiped it away, cupping his cheek in his palm. “I love cheesy, and I love you.” Alec turned his head, kissing Magnus’ palm softly. 

They sat there for the rest of the night, holding each other on the couch, as they flipped through the book. They laughed (and cried a little bit) as they relived the best moments of their relationship.

And it was safe to say that that Christmas was the best Magnus had ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think?
> 
> Let me know on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/insiemes) xx
> 
>  
> 
> See you soon Angels! xo


End file.
